In his article " Religion's Claim to be Non-Disprovable " ("The claim of religion to be conclusive), Eliezer S. Yudkowsky , a researcher at the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, affronta il tema della verificabilità o meno della religione.
Quello che ha catturato la mia attenzione è stata la sua presentazione del più antico esperimento scientifico «moderno»: un esperimento per verificare se una religione sia vera, preso direttamente dall'Antico Testamento!
L'esperimento di Elia
L'episodio in questione è quello di Elia e dei sacerdoti di Baal ( Primo libro dei Re , 18:17-40) . Il profeta Elia si reca dal re Ahab and all the people of Israel and accused them of having abandoned the worship of Yahweh in favor of that of Baal (18:17-21). As the people
hesitates, Elijah decides to prove to Israel that Yahweh is the true God and that Baal is a false one.
Elia on one side and four hundred and fifty priests of Baal on the other two altars and erect on two bulls slaughtered there, but without lighting a fire for a burnt offering, will be the true God to light the fire of the altar dedicated to him:
Yudkowsky fa notare che si tratta di un esperimento vero e proprio per vedere quale sia il vero Dio. Il sacrificio a Baal è l'equivalente del «gruppo di controllo» degli esperimenti moderni: anche lì c'è la legna da ardere, anche lì un giovenco similar to that of Elijah, there is also the priests who invoke God and ask him to consume the sacrifice, the difference is that Baal is a false god!
And indeed, despite their efforts, the priests of Baal are not able to access the fire (and are teased by Elias):
Now it's up to Elijah, but he decided to make it even more difficult for his business: after building his altar, he had slaughtered the bull and put it on the woodpile to three times asking the people to fill the jars with water and overthrow of the sacrifice (18:30-35).
Yudkowsky points out that the act of throwing water on the wood, which makes the ignition of the fire more difficult than in the case of the altar of Baal, is a sort of acceptance of the burden of proof on the part of Elijah he will demonstrate that the power of sacrifice to Yahweh is not a case.
And, predictably, comes the observation of the phenomenon that confirms the success of the 'experiment' di Elia:
Ma i paralleli tra questo episodio ed un esperimento scientifico moderno non sono finiti. Abbiamo anche i peer reviewrs che confermano la riuscita experiment:
Article inspired by ' Religion's Claim to be Non-Disprovable "Eliezer S. Yudkowsky and 'Reading Yudkowky, part 10 "Luke Muehlhauser. The biblical passages are the translation CEI / Jerusalem. The photo is from the fresco from Dura Europos " Bible Story: Ahab and Jezebel ", by Laura Gibbs.
Quello che ha catturato la mia attenzione è stata la sua presentazione del più antico esperimento scientifico «moderno»: un esperimento per verificare se una religione sia vera, preso direttamente dall'Antico Testamento!
L'esperimento di Elia
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| Sacrificio di Elia, dalla sinagoga di Dura Europos |
hesitates, Elijah decides to prove to Israel that Yahweh is the true God and that Baal is a false one.
Elia on one side and four hundred and fifty priests of Baal on the other two altars and erect on two bulls slaughtered there, but without lighting a fire for a burnt offering, will be the true God to light the fire of the altar dedicated to him:
22 Elijah said to them, "I alone am left, as a prophet of God, as the prophets of Baal are four hundred. Give us 23 due giovenchi; essi se ne scelgano uno, lo squartino e lo pongano sulla legna senza appiccarvi il fuoco. Io preparerò l'altro giovenco e lo porrò sulla legna senza appiccarvi il fuoco. 24 Voi invocherete il nome del vostro dio e io invocherò quello del Signore. La divinità che risponderà concedendo il fuoco è Dio!». Tutto il popolo rispose: «La proposta è buona!».
Yudkowsky fa notare che si tratta di un esperimento vero e proprio per vedere quale sia il vero Dio. Il sacrificio a Baal è l'equivalente del «gruppo di controllo» degli esperimenti moderni: anche lì c'è la legna da ardere, anche lì un giovenco similar to that of Elijah, there is also the priests who invoke God and ask him to consume the sacrifice, the difference is that Baal is a false god!
And indeed, despite their efforts, the priests of Baal are not able to access the fire (and are teased by Elias):
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose the bull and you begin because there are so many. Invoke the name of your god, but no fire. " 26 they took the bull given them and prepared called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "Baal, answer us." But there was no voice, nor a response. And they danced around the altar they had. Since we already 27 noon Elijah mocked them, saying: "Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps it is lost in thought, or busy, or traveling in case you were asleep, he wakes up. " 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves, as was their custom with swords and spears until blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and those still possessed and acted as the time had come where you are accustomed to offer sacrifices, but he felt no voice and no response or a paid attention.
Now it's up to Elijah, but he decided to make it even more difficult for his business: after building his altar, he had slaughtered the bull and put it on the woodpile to three times asking the people to fill the jars with water and overthrow of the sacrifice (18:30-35).
Yudkowsky points out that the act of throwing water on the wood, which makes the ignition of the fire more difficult than in the case of the altar of Baal, is a sort of acceptance of the burden of proof on the part of Elijah he will demonstrate that the power of sacrifice to Yahweh is not a case.
And, predictably, comes the observation of the phenomenon that confirms the success of the 'experiment' di Elia:
36 Al momento dell'offerta si avvicinò il profeta Elia e disse: «Signore, Dio di Abramo, di Isacco e di Giacobbe, oggi si sappia che tu sei Dio in Israele e che io sono tuo servo e che ho fatto tutte queste cose per tuo comando. 37 Rispondimi, Signore, rispondimi e questo popolo sappia che tu sei il Signore Dio e che converti il loro cuore!». 38 Cadde il fuoco del Signore e consumò l'olocausto, la legna, le pietre e la cenere, prosciugando l'acqua del canaletto.
Ma i paralleli tra questo episodio ed un esperimento scientifico moderno non sono finiti. Abbiamo anche i peer reviewrs che confermano la riuscita experiment:
39 people saw it, they all fell prostrate and cried, "The Lord is God! The Lord is God. "and the definitive elimination of the hypothesis disproved, with the killing of all four hundred and fifty priests of Baal
40 Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal, not one of them escape." Seized them. Elijah brought them down the river Kishon, where they slaughtered. On the latter pointYudkowky comments:
It is a harsh but necessary gesture. We must firmly reject the hypothesis falsified, and do it quickly, before the kinds of excuses to protect themselves. If the priests Baal had been allowed to survive, would begin to sputter that religion is a separate teaching, which can not be proved or disproved.
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| massacre of the priests of Baal , by Gustave Doré |
Because I think this episode is important? Because I think it is an indication of how religion is essentially designed to be impervious to scrutiny of the facts and thus remain "true" despite his claims to be continually discussed. I will speak in the next article, "How religion has increasingly subtracted from the verification of the facts .
Article inspired by ' Religion's Claim to be Non-Disprovable "Eliezer S. Yudkowsky and 'Reading Yudkowky, part 10 "Luke Muehlhauser. The biblical passages are the translation CEI / Jerusalem. The photo is from the fresco from Dura Europos " Bible Story: Ahab and Jezebel ", by Laura Gibbs.
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